A Note From the Editor: Best of Coachella Valley Final-Round Voting Is Under Way; Newspapers Earn a Victory on Tariffs

Some items worth noting as we head into the much-welcomed fall season:

• Thanks to all of you who voted in the first round of our Best of Coachella Valley 2018-2019 readers’ poll.

Whether you voted or not in the first round … well, now’s your chance to vote in the second and final round!

The top three to six finalists (five, in most cases) from the first round are now up for your consideration at CVIndependent.com. Polls are open through Monday, Oct. 29.

Unlike other “Best Of” contests ’round these parts, for the Best of Coachella Valley, we only ask you to vote once per round. While a goal of other “Best Ofs” is for their sponsoring publications to get as much web traffic as possible from people visiting their websites over and over again, we’d rather have everyone vote just one time, so our list of winners can be as fair and accurate as possible.

The winners will be announced on Monday, Nov. 26, at CVIndependent.com, and in our December 2018 print edition.

Thanks. Now … go vote!

• A few months ago, I used this space to mention the tariffs that had been placed on imported Canadian newsprint—and how those tariffs were so severe that they were threatening the survival of many U.S. newspapers, because some publications’ print bills were being jacked up by as much as 30-40 percent as a result. (The Independent’s print bill had “only” gone up about 12 percent … which is painful nonetheless.) I also asked concerned readers to contact our elected officials to encourage them to fight these tariffs—which were being requested by just one U.S. paper manufacturer, owned by a private-equity firm.

These tariffs were truly unfair and misguided. If all five U.S. paper mills that make newsprint operated at full capacity (due to the decline in the newspaper industry, there aren’t as many as there used to be), they couldn’t come close to producing enough newsprint for U.S. newspapers.

Well, I have some good news to report: The United States International Trade Commission, after hearing from a number of concerned members of Congress, overturned the tariffs in late August.

Thanks to all of you who heeded the call and spoke out against these tariffs.

Be sure to pick up the October 2018 print edition of the Coachella Valley Independent, hitting news stands this week. As always, thanks for reading; if you have questions or feedback, please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..